Any real guide to a computer game will have a section on cheats. The following are the only ones I found useful, and how to use them.

Step 1. You have to be at sea.

Step 2. It helps if you pause the game. Else, if you are in combat, you may fire off loaded cannons when you hit the space key.

Step 3. Make sure the ‘caps lock’ is engaged, I read on the Forums that due to the way Akella programmed the game, it doesn’t recognize lower case letters. For a fact, the cheats won’t work.

Step 4. Type:

HAVE LIVE you have to have full sailcloth, they say, but it will repair your hull and restore your crew. I haven’t seen it help my sails, though… And, it’s not "have life".

EXPU MNE gives you a big boost in experience, at least at the lower levels. If you’re trying to make rank 1 all at once, though, you’ll be doing this a long time. Serves ye right!

DENEG DAY I understand that in Russian this means "Gimme Money", and it does give you 100,000 gold!

GET ME MAGIC Never used this one, it radically increases your cannon damage.

MAKE SCREEN SHOTS I’ve never used this one, but no one gets hurt with cannon shots, for those Hollywood screen shots.

Any other cheat codes, I couldn’t get any use out of.

What do you do? If yer a cheatin’ scoundrel, you just double-tap that enter key as soon as ye plop into that 3D screen showin’ yer beautiful ship. This brings up the sea map and activates it before you’re too close for that to be no longer available. Works nearly every time! Now, were you in a Corvette, you could just say out outsailed the bugger. You can’t tell me that, though, if your ship is a Trade Caravel!